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Raptors @ Knicks. Wednesday, Dec 08

@

At the one and only, mecca of basketball; Madison Square Garden

First off lets start by introducing the Toronto Raptors Starting 5

PG

SG

SF

PF

C

Opposing player to watch:Ed Davis

this guy has been impressive since being called up from the D-league and it seems as if he's getting better by the game. he's averaging a mediocre 7.3 and 6.3 so to the naked it eye it would seem that he's just another solid role player. However, thats in roughly a shade under 20 minutes a game. This kid has the mix of offensive skill and effort that his impact goes beyond the stat line. As the season progresses and the raptors continue to fall out of the playoff race( though they are surprisingly 8th ) his minutes should increase. I could have easily chosen A.Johnson for Calderon for this section but i decided to go with a new player someone not mentioned but could very well come in and have himself a great solid game.Now dont get me wrong, he's no player to change a defense for , yet, though he could come off the bench and hurt us( as others have done in the past ). dont give him the space or confidence to get going offensive as it could cause problems for us later on.

AND NOW THE STARTING 5 OF OUR NYK

At PG

At SG

At SF

At PF

At C

Player profile

Shawne Williams:

Lets face it you didnt expect this, we all knew the dude could shoot, but not like this. sure the more attractive option for this section could've been STAT, Felton, Chandler, or even Turiaf. but i chose this guy for a reason simply because- i didnt expect this, not now not later in the season, not ever. This is the same guy who was on his last chance to save a once promising career, this is the guy who's had a few embarassing brush ins with the law, this is the same guy who became an enemy to NYK fans not because of his on court play, but for simply beating out the son of an NYK legend. I was infuriated with the choice, but this dude deserves to be here. Sure i have to see this out of him more often and for a longer stretch before my full verdict is in; but boy is this guy doing a good job of shutting me up as well as other fellow Knick fanatics. Shooting the lights out of the basketball at a whopping 83% from the 3point land shooting it so good that every shot looks good, making D'antoni's statement that galo was the best 3-point shooter ever, let alone the team, look laughable. Again he wont shoot 83% all year but ill take 43%. If he could maintain his form and stroke it would give us the spacing that we need as he would be in the game with Gallo giving us 2 lethal 3point shooters, they could come in and space the floor as teams would have to respect the 3 as well as amare's low post game and feltons drive. i like where this is going. and Williams; way to shut me up

Who else did you expect? This is his town now. let the MVP chants rain down the garden.

Coach's Corner

keys to victory:

1. Defense- of course this is going to be on the list. Last time we faced them our defense was solid and for the most part forced them into bad shots, defense well and deny the rim and we get transition points- which leads me to my next point2. Run; Early and Often- Jump on them early and take them out of their rhythm with our running and shooting and we should quite them down and get this one over with. once we get that early lead, stretch it and keep running.3. Confidence- were at home and have been playing real well, continue to do what we've been doing and take what we did last time we faced them( just a few days ago). Play with confidence and it'll show in our shooting. 4. Take away the 3- simple as that, Bayless got off way too many 3's last time for my liking we cover them tight and take that shot away.

Ronny Turiaf

No doubt he's a defensive presence especially in the paint. makes players think twice about driving it in. and thats what we need especially since A.Johnson had his way around the rim last time we faced off. Turiaf allows us to add someone to push him around down low and make it harder on him. his passing has been underrated as he finds the cutter on multiple occasions.

Prediction

knicks win 103-89. We jump on them early and stay attacking, Gallo has a game better then he's had in the last few games as last game gave me the vibe he's due for his bi weekly good stretch expect him and Williams to add 3point shots and STAT to do his thing. On to the next one.

huge knicks fan in canada here, and loving the team so far this year....stoudamire has played beyond my expectations, fields has been a great surprise, felton gives us the pg we've needed for ages (can score if he needs to but unselfish), chandler has been a great role player, and good teams have a need for role players (ask miami about that), and the team in general is buying in to the system and playing hard. that said, i think the raps are going to give them a harder ride and a closer game than the last time we played them. the raps are up and down, and i think they're going to bring more to the table than last time we played them. knicks win, but pull it out in the last 4 mins of the 4th.